Frank commentary from an unretired call girl

Gingerbread House

…the little house was built entirely from bread with a roof made of cake, and the windows were made of clear sugar. – Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm

It’s been a while since I dissected a news article line by line, but then it’s been a while since I’ve found one which cries out for it so loudly. Though distorted and inverted language (such as work referred to as “being purchased”, the majority called a minority, self-determination called “demeaning” and infantilization of women excused as “feminism”) is the norm in mainstream American discourse about sex work, this story yet stands out for its nightmarish use of euphemisms to disguise incarceration, abuse and reprogramming:

On the outskirts of the city, a two-story lodge with a wraparound porch is largely hidden on a 110-acre site in the woods. Horses graze in front of the building, and a volleyball court and educational center stand behind. Down winding paths, are a ropes course, pool and lake. But the name of the recently opened facility, Freedom Place, cannot be found, and its address is undisclosed: It is the state’s first privately run safe house that provides long-term housing for American girls who are victims of sex trafficking. The shelter represents a new solution for state legislators and county officials as they try to figure out how best to support such victims…

What a lovely picture! Almost like a summer camp, except for the locked doors; as you will see, its name is straight out of Orwell. But the gingerbread isn’t really there to attract victims, but rather to please the state officials who want a dumping ground for nonconforming girls that doesn’t look like a jail.

…In Texas, the effort to end sex trafficking of minors has shifted since the Texas Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that domestic minors younger than 14 involved in prostitution should be considered victims rather than criminals. Recent legislation changed the label for kids charged with prostitution from “delinquent” to “child in need of supervision” and allowed for these records to be sealed…but Texas has no “safe harbor” laws that establish a systematic response for placing minors into necessary rehabilitation services without criminalization. As such, Texas counties have different methods in place for collaboration between local nonprofits, police enforcement and court systems to transition girls into treatment. Child Protective Services is usually involved only if the child is being directly trafficked by a family member.

The word “trafficked” is beginning to lose all meaning, and as I’ve pointed out before this is particularly true in Texas; officials and media in the Lone Star State appear to use the term randomly, without logic or consistency. Here it seems to mean “forced into prostitution”, but elsewhere it refers to transportation across state lines. Note also the lawhead delusion that re-labeling a “delinquent” as a “child in need…” and criminalization as “rehabilitation” changes the actual fact of incarceration.

Girls can often be distrustful or so manipulated by their trafficker that they leave if not placed in secure facilities. Many of the young victims who are not charged with prostitution must be charged with related offenses such as drug possession or truancy to ensure that they are not released back onto the street…“Most girls are so, for lack of a better word, enslaved by their pimps and traffickers, including their minds, that as soon as you put them into a facility that is not secure or if you send them home that is just inviting them to go straight back to their pimp,” said Patricia Davis, a human rights professor at Southern Methodist University…

Reread that closely and let it sink in: the normal human desire not to be locked up (even in a jail named “Freedom Place”) is used as evidence of “trafficking”, and if a girl says she has no pimp (which is true of 90% of underage whores), this is viewed as proof of “brainwashing”. Furthermore, even if the state cannot prove a girl was hooking it simply files whatever charges it can just to keep her locked up indefinitely. Best of all, the one reciting this propaganda is supposedly an “expert” in human rights.

…Elizabeth Crooks, who runs a mentoring organization called Embassy of Hope…said she can relate personally to the victims’ struggles because she was a victim of sexual exploitation as a teenager. Crooks said she escaped the cycle with help from a church group, but did not recognize that what she had gone through was illegal sexual abuse until she was 45…

She “escaped” from something she didn’t recognize as “victimization” until she was “helped” to redefine it as such over a quarter of a century later. Sound familiar?

…Freedom Place gives victims a safe haven. “We can’t decriminalize and not have places for these kids to go,” said state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte…the co-chairwoman of the Joint Interim Committee to Study Human Trafficking.

Van de Putte clearly has a very warped understanding of the word “decriminalization” if she thinks it means locking girls up and reprogramming them until they “recognize” that they were “exploited” even if they weren’t.

Seven girls currently reside at Freedom Place, where most will likely stay between nine and 18 months. The first four residents were referred by the Harris County Girls Court, which focuses on sex trafficking cases. Girls can also be referred by family members or refer themselves…

“Referred” in this context seems to mean “committed”. Since the place is fairly new, one wonders how that estimate of length of commitment was derived, and if it might not be extended if they decide they need to keep the beds full.

Exactly as optional as admitting to being “trafficked”, probably. In other words, you can bet girls will stay until “rehabilitated”, and those who don’t say what they’re supposed to say and do what they’re supposed to do are obviously still “enslaved”.

…A low staff-to-child ratio is maintained, and the girls are checked on at least every 15 minutes. But the facility — with carpeted floors and pastel walls — feels like a home…

A “home” without privacy or liberty where they’re checked on every 15 minutes. I’m sure Hansel’s cage near the oven was very warm and cozy, too.

“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.

Often attributed to Churchill, this thought was originally expressed by the French author Victor Hugo in Villemain (1845), as follows: You have enemies? Why, it is the story of every man who has done a great deed or created a new idea. It is the cloud which thunders around everything that shines. Fame must have enemies, as light must have gnats. Do not bother yourself about it; disdain. Keep your mind serene as you keep your life clear.
Villemain is a brief segment taken from Hugo’s Choses Vues (Things Seen), a running journal Hugo kept of events he witnessed. The original French versions of these journals were published after Hugo’s death.
“

Locked up or no, at fifteen, I would have hated that place and tried desperately to find a way to escape. These people just truly don’t get it. You are in most cases not out on the streets, working, as a teenager if everything was just fine at home. Once your on your own, it’s very difficult not to be, to trust enough not to be. This is totally the wrong approach.

Oh, no, Comixchik, you’ve got it all wrong! Families are GOOD, so the only reason a “child” could possibly run away was because she was “trafficked” by “pimps”! Otherwise she’s too “innocent” to think of any of that before her 18th birthday, and even then any laws or social rules she breaks are certainly some man’s fault.

The nonprofit organization Arrow Child and Family Ministries oversees Freedom Place, but participation in religious activities is optional.

LOL – suuuuuure it is! If these girls want to ever get out of this place – you can bet they learn sooner rather than later that this is not really optional.

I note that Emily Foxhall didn’t interview any of the girls in the place. Eh, but then again, mindless drones that they are – what do they have to contribute to this story really? /sarc

This is really religious indoctrination. It’s like if I got busted for picking up a hooker and my sentence was to be imprisoned by “Promise Keepers”. It’s really like a poor attempt at “A Clockwork Orange”.

This is eerily similar to those that get trapped into forced rehab due to DWI or some other drug related arrest. Until you bow down to the indoctrination into their worldview you get stuck in the system forever. You may not be cured of your supposed disease but you’ll be a compliant shell of the person that went in.

It’s also the concept behind “John’s Schools” although I get the impression (thankfully I’ve never been forced to attend one) that those are basically just irritating and don’t last long enough to get to the “put the rat cage on Julia” point.

so,they are holding the girls prisoners and make it sound like they are heping them recover from trauma?this is monstrous.this is a crime.this is stripping someone off their basic human rights.i wonder if someone can call the police and tell them they suspect of that kind of activities going on in that place.isnt it their duty to investigate?here if someone calls them even anonymously and tell them that they suspect of a neighbour for example,abusing his wife or child it is their duty to come and investigate no matter if the person calling has sufficient evidence to support their claim.

More specifically – Child Protective Services – which is the only organization in the United States that seems to be exempt from the Constitution at all times. And, what I mean by that – is there’s absolutely no attempt ever made to reign them in.

Speaking of stories, here’s one I heard on the news today: http://tinyurl.com/cwc5rqf
They use the word “trafficking” to refer to two woman who contacted a guy about working as escorts. In the news video the reporter then states that one of the woman approached an undercover cop to sell sex. The reporters use phrases like “selling their bodies”, “prostitution ring”, and of course call the two guys involved pimps. Keep in mind this is from down in Texas.

The most chilling part of the article. Any daughter pissing off their parents for whatever reason could be dumped here. And I doubt the girls will be allowed to use the fancy facilities if they are being checked on every 15 minutes. The horses, the pool, etc., will be used by the staff and their visitors.

Agreed, Susan. I can imagine conservative parents dropping off daughters who tell them (or “too openly” display) they are lesbian or transsexual or whatever and the parents claiming that some evil pimp has so abused them they have “turned into something wrong”.

One of my hobbies is landscape photography, and I’ve long had a desire to go to the US; to see New England in the fall, to see Bryce Canyon, to see Yosemite. I know they’re all cliches, but they are all so impressive….The more that I read here, the more that I can also see that the US is a totally f**ked up country. Mes Dammes et Messierus, pardonnez vous mon français. Tell me, why should I come? Why should I try to capture the natural beauty, when behind it is this ghastly reality?

Well, Yosemite, Bryce Canyon and New England aren’t themselves evil, and the truth is that you can’t really find a place on Earth without some injustice in it. Some places are just worse than others. I’ve lived in the US all my life except for a six-month deployment to Afghanistan, and it helps me to keep things in perspective. You can have a reasonable expectation that you won’t be shot at, blown up, or horribly maimed if you choose to visit, even in light of recent news from Colorado.

Seriously though, just ignore the assholes and enjoy the view. There are some pretty spectacular mountains in Afghanistan too, you know.

I agree that the mountains of Afghanistan are beautiful especially in the winter. I did a 12 month tour for the U.S. Army there from November 2009 to November 2010. I heard the place was a nice place to visit before the Shah of Afghanistan was deposed in a coup in 1973 which threw the country into a civil war which has never ended since.

“I want you to feel threatened so you BACK DOWN – you will not have the last word, not this time, not ever again” Sound Familiar Maggie? Beware sometimes your OWN words can come back to haunt you from behind the mirror you spiteful venomous little woman. Just thought I’d let you know you’re not the Only one watching others – sometimes the Watchers (i.e you)? Are themselves being watched also. Now you? Are under scrutiny to – hope you like it as you seem to enjoy doing it to inflict misery on others? Let’s see how your Own medicine tastes Miss; I trust you won’t choke on it……….

Oh, oh, I’m so scared! Ooooh, I feel so threatened! Please stop, I’m a survivor of dealing with pompous twits!

You do realize that I know prohibitionists have been “watching” me for about 18 months now, right? Or did you think I was as oblivious to reality as y’all are? Go right ahead and watch; it helps to drive up my Google page rank.

Oh, and one more thing: if you use applicable insults rather than random ones you won’t look quite so stupid. Venomous I am, but spiteful never.

About February of 2011 I started noticing hits from prohibitionist sites, and it ramped up in April; I suspect the original hits were due to “Numerology” and the ramp-up was after the MRAs discovered me.

Hi, Stella Marr, how’s the weather in Houston? By the way, your implants — I hope you got them done in Mexico, because as fake as they look, there’s no reason to have spent extra money for a USA doctor. Have the process servers knocked on your door yet?

I have a question. As a libertarian, I think that prostitution ought to be legalized — I’m all in favor of capitalist acts between consenting adults. And I certainly agree that many of the prohibitionist arguments infantilize women.

With you so far. But — these aren’t adults. They’re minors, deemed not capable of entering into binding contracts, voting, etc. Do you think it’s OK to ban underage prostitution? If so, what happens to girls who do it anyway?

I agree that “Freedom House” sounds like a nightmare. But do you have alternative suggestions?

I think most people agree that it’s OK to keep legal minors from doing some things, but if they’re going to set the bar for hooking at 18 it only makes sense to set the age of consent there as well; despite what the moralists think there is no material difference between sex for compensation and sex for “love” except that those who fall into the latter are less likely to use condoms or good judgment. This is not to say that the state shouldn’t set a rule as to what age a brothel or escort service can hire a girl, as long as the state is aware that doing so means that the only sex work an underage teen can do will be on the street, and that the law isn’t going to stop her if that’s what she intends to do. So,

1) Pick an AoC and stick to it; no criminalization of motive for having sex.
2) Stop pretending sex is some horrible thing; treat AoC violation like any other status offense such as underage drinking, and place the consequences equally on the minor and whoever assisted her. Furthermore, strict liability is an abomination in ANY crime; if a man can convince a judge that he really believed the girl was overage (really good fake ID, can present witnesses who testify they told him she was of age) it should very much be a defense.
3) Stop pretending that people under 18 are “innocent children”; I’m all for lesser penalties in juvenile court, but it’s asinine to try some teens as adults for some offenses while simultaneously pretending they’re infants in every other way. If you’re going to make it a crime for girls below a certain age to have sex, then do so and stop lying about it. When a person breaks a law she can deal with the consequences, but pretending she’s a “victim” denies her agency and subjects her to undefined, open-ended confinement and punishment.
4) Recognize the truth: that 90% of underage whores do it to survive, because laws prohibit their doing any other profitable work and applying to any “straight” job would expose them to arrest and return to whatever situation they’re running away from. They don’t hook because some “pimp” abducted them from their perfect, loving parents; they hook because they ran away from some awful situation (for girls usually sexual abuse, for boys usually rejection due to homosexuality, and for transgender youth rejection, period) and they’re hungry, cold and dirty. Solution: Allow charitable organizations to set up drop-in shelters where runaways can come for food, a shower and a bed WITHOUT FEAR OF ARREST. If you allow them to confine the kids or you let as much as one cop ever walk through that door or hang around outside to harass them, the project is doomed.
5) Take teens of 12 and above out of the “child protection” system and instead make it easier for them to lodge civil complaints against parents for sex abuse and the like; allow teens to seek emancipation on their own and grant it if they can pass certain competency tests. Treat emancipated teens as legal adults for personal behavior such as sex, drinking, etc, even though restrictions on voting, marriage and joining the military should be retained.

That’s all I can think of right now, but it’s a good question so I’m going to turn it into a full column very soon.

Freedom House. What a sick joke. Let me guess: it operates at a profit. Jails, like hotels, don’t turn a profit when they’re sitting empty.

Guess what? It looks like Office wasn’t included with the new ‘puter after all. I’m going to have to buy it separately. Ah well. Hey, if I were a juvenile court judge in this state, I could send kids to jail (I mean rehabilitation!) and earn a nice kickback that would let me buy anything I wanted. Except the ability to look in a mirror.

I can tell you form personal experience that this isn’t as you think it is. Girls’ Court tries everything to keep girls with their families. These are girls, as stated in the article, involved in sex work who are under 14. Almost all are under the control of a much older man who is their boyfriend. The situations are classic grooming – meet a girl from a chaotic or abusive home, buy her things, give her love, then turn her out. The only time the girl is sent to a place like this is when she can’t be kept in the home, either because her home environment is awful (real life example – girl’s mom started her hooking when she was 11 years old to feed mom’s drug habit), or the girl continues to return to her man. Now, these men hold these girls hostage – no contact with family, the man keeps all wages, and supply them with plenty of drugs etc. And yes, the legal definition for “trafficking” in Texas basically means forced prostittuion. It’s a terrible term.
I know you’ve said before that this is not the case for most hookers, that most of them don’t have pimps and are involved in their work freely and happily, and I agree. Those types of girls don’t come to Girls’ Court. These are those few exceptions. These girls are in dangerous environments, not free to leave. The Freedom House (horrible name, I agree) is an alternative to a detention-type facility.

Jessica, thanks for the info. The problem is that even systems like this which start out with the best of intentions absolutely never stay there when force is involved; they can’t. Tomorrow’s column will explore this issue in more depth and suggest a few better solutions than agency denial, forcible confinement and Orwellian obfuscation.

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